1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner control system for an electric vehicle. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air conditioner that is able to operate itself during charging of a secondary battery of the electric vehicle.
2. Related Art
It has been known to use secondary batteries to power air conditioners installed on electric vehicles, with the secondary batteries on the vehicle also serving to power the vehicles. Therefore, it is necessary to minimize the power consumption by the air conditioner while it is running during running, in order to lengthen the travel distance of the electric vehicle by reducing drain on the battery. For this purpose, "preliminary air conditioning" has been proposed. In preliminary air conditioning, the air conditioner is operated to cool or warm an interior of the vehicle during charging of the secondary battery, the charging occurring when the vehicle is stopped.
However, unlimited preliminary air conditioning may retard the charging ability of the secondary battery due to the current consumed by the air conditioner. The limited charging ability of the secondary battery and the maximum charge current are affected by the operation of the air conditioner. Thus, the charging time is unnecessarily prolonged. This increase in charging time is in conflict with the desire to reduce the charging-time of electric vehicles, which is a major technological challenge for electric vehicles.